LONDON, April 4, 2022 (AFP) – Europe’s development bank announced Monday the immediate suspension of access to financing and expertise for both Russia and Belarus in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.
“The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is moving ahead with its plans to exclude the Russian Federation and Belarus from receiving funding for projects,” the lender said in a statement.
“The EBRD board of governors have approved taking firm action against the Russian Federation and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine.
“Access by the Russian Federation and Belarus to the resources of the Bank is to be formally suspended with immediate effect.”
The EBRD reserves the right to suspend or cancel all further disbursements for existing investment projects.
Those projects amount to about 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in both nations, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The organisation, which has repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, had already announced last month that it would close its Moscow and Minsk offices.
“It is sad that we have come to this point after so many years of cooperation and activity in both countries,” said EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso.
“However, the Russian-led war on Ukraine has left us no choice but to show our condemnation with more than just words.
“Actions are required, too, so that the two countries are in no doubt that we believe they have undermined the values which are important to us as an institution and to the international community.”
The EBRD had forecast last week that the economies of Russia and Ukraine will contract by 10 percent and 20 percent respectively this year as the war causes “the greatest supply shock” for 50 years.
The institution in March unveiled a two-billion-euro “resilience” package to help citizens, companies and countries affected by the war in Ukraine, including those hosting refugees.
The London-based lender — which invests alongside the private sector — has not undertaken any new investment projects in Russia since 2014, when Moscow invaded and then annexed Crimea.
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